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Ohio State vs. Northwestern Score, Takeaways
No. 4 Ohio State was not the most recent title contender to succumb to a weeknight street game. The Buckeyes traveled to a simple triumph in Evanston Friday night, pounding Northwestern 52-3. Things appeared to be somewhat risky from the get-go in the game as Northwestern's resistance gave indications of having the option to baffle Justin Fields and the Buckeyes offense. Well ... for a couple of minutes, at any rate. Ohio State scored a touchdown on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead however would need to punt on its next two belongings, and Northwestern dealt with a field objective to slice the shortfall to 7-3 after the initial 15 minutes.
- Not long after that, all fantasies of a focused, energizing game immediately dispersed. The Buckeyes turned on max engine propulsion in the subsequent quarter, burning Northwestern for 24 points to take a 31-3 lead at halftime and they just traveled from that point. Fields had another astounding execution, completing with only 194 yards passing yet hurling four touchdowns. J.K. Dobbins kept having a fantastic season, scrambling for 121 yards and scoring two touchdowns, including an accepting score.
- On edge side of the ball the Buckeyes commanded also, holding the Northwestern offense to 199 yards of offense.
The Buckeyes even overwhelmed on extraordinary groups. Kicker Blake Haubeil bored a vocation high 55-yard field objective to end the primary half, and punter Drue Chrisman dropped bombs with his correct foot, averaging 47.4 yards per punt on his five endeavors.
It was another altogether commanding exhibition from a group that is finished only overwhelm each group it's confronted up until this point. Here are three takeaways from the game.
- This game gave another indication of why the Buckeyes are a genuine title risk. How frequently have we seen Ohio State take its foot off the gas in late seasons? A year ago, it was a night game at Purdue that saw the Buckeyes fall and blow their playoff possibilities. The chances of Northwestern pulling off a comparative bombshell in this game were practically nothing, yet a Friday night game out and about can be precarious for anyone. In addition, Northwestern was the main group in the nation that has made Wisconsin look mortal so far this year.
So quite possibly Ohio State may have wound up battling against the Wildcats, yet it didn't. The Buckeyes scored on their first belonging, and after a minor hiccup, they commanded this game for almost every one of the hour. Also, they did this with an immense standoff against Wisconsin approaching one week from now. If at any time there was an opportunity for the Buckeyes to get found looking past an adversary and to one week from now, definitely this Northwestern group was the one to neglect. They didn't, however. They ruled, and that is the sort of attitude you see from a group equipped for winning a national title. Beating Northwestern will amount to nothing with regards to contrasting resumes later in the year, yet the manner in which the Buckeyes approached doing it makes me significantly progressively positive about their capacity to arrive at the College Football Playoff.
- 2. I do have one minor meat with Ryan Day's methodology. Incidentally enough, this is likely associated with what I just expounded on, yet I don't know why Day left his starters in for such a long time. It is anything but another wonder, either. This has been the situation a couple of times this season, and thinking about the master plan and what's in question for the Buckeyes, I don't figure it would hurt Day to have a faster snare.
- In case I'm an Ohio State fan, I would prefer not to see Fields, Dobbins and other key players taking or conveying hits when I'm up 35 against a group that hasn't scored in excess of 30 out of a game all season.
3. Northwestern's offense stays hard to watch. Northwestern fans have been calling for hostile facilitator Mick McCall's head this season. They've called for it in past seasons also. To this point, Pat Fitzgerald has would not give the fans the head they need. I respect his devotion to his aides, yet something needs to change. This Northwestern offense is just not adequate to contend in the Big Ten.
In all actuality, I don't know what changing hostile facilitators right currently would do. From what I have seen of this Northwestern offense, it's not only a schematic disappointment. I don't have the foggiest idea whether there's a hostile organizer out there who can mystically appear in Evanston and start considering plays that lead to this group scoring 30 points for each game. There's a work force issue here, as well. It's an offense with a couple of intriguing pieces - I like Drake Anderson and Isaiah Bowser - yet there is an extreme absence of playmakers on the border. On the off chance that Northwestern had some more expertise at the recipient position, Mick McCall may resemble a superior play caller
